Para refletir - artigo extraído do Toronto Star de 24 de maio

Não costumo fazer isso por aqui (reproduzir artigos dos jornais de Toronto na íntegra e em inglês). Entretanto, o artigo abaixo (peço desculpas aos familiares que não entendem inglês) trata, na minha opinião, de uma das mais importantes e críticas situações que fatalmente fará parte da vida do imigrante logo na sua chegada por aqui - Recomeçar profissionalmente não somente em hierarquia mas também em salário.

Aí há dois cenários possíveis:

1- Você atua em áreas técnicas em alta demanda como TI (tecnologia da informação), Telecom (desenvolvimento de software, hardware, etc)e logo arruma emprego na sua área (foi o caso do meu marido graças ao bom deus e ao nosso planejamento que já previa isso) mas mesmo assim o primeiro emprego ainda não paga o seu real valor de mercado.

2- Você, como eu e tantos outros que conheço por aqui, atua em áreas de menor demanda e mais "humanas" e passa por todos os cursos do governo, co-ops (estou no último mês do meu), trabalha de graça e tantas mais para provar para o empregador Canadense que você é capaz de fazer exatamente o que fazia no seu país de origem por aqui (meu caso).

Isso para citar os melhores cenários que é o que temos visto por aqui na qualificada amostra de brasileiros ao nosso redor!

Muitos me perguntam se isso tudo vale à pena e a resposta de um milhão de dólares é -Cada um sabe de si. No nosso caso digo que valeu e tem valido muito sim! Pois embora estejamos no caminho certo atuando nas mesmas áreas em que atuávamos no Brasil (meu marido telecom e eu assessoria de imprensa) isso tem sido uma consequência da luta diária por aqui pois o fator principal mesmo da mudança e que justifica tudo isso sempre foi e vai continuar sendo a qualidade de vida (e isso há de sobra por aqui!).

Agora para aqueles que se incomodariam (ou até mesmo não teriam reserva suficiente para segurar meses de trabalho gratuito, etc)com este começo de desapegos, sacrifícios e retrocessos é bom fazer uma excelente preparação emocional que a rapadura é doce mas não é mole não!

Boa leitura e ótimo fim de semana!

Helping newcomers overcome barriers

Janis Foord Kirk - Toronto Star

May 24, 2007

Theresa McPherson has mustered all her energy to reinvent herself for life in Canada since emigrating from Jamaica in 2004.

“It takes a winning spirit, I believe. A lot of people allow the rejections to get them down. They allow negative thoughts and negative people to steal their energy when they need it to fight this game, to get into the workplace. And it is a fight, you need all the energy that you can muster.”

So says Theresa McPherson, who has mustered all her energy to reinvent herself for life in Canada since emigrating from Jamaica in 2004.

My last column on April 21, “ Canada a struggle for many newcomers,” examined the barriers internationally educated immigrants like McPherson encounter as they look for work. Today, a closer look at what they can do to overcome these barriers.

McPherson agreed to share her story and add her advice to the counsel that follows if I agreed to protect her privacy by changing her name.

Preparation : “As any new immigrant does before coming here, I did a lot of research,” says McPherson.

“I'd never lived here, spent any extended time here. So I tried to learn everything I could to prepare myself.”

Contrary to what McPherson believes, says Rhonda Singer, president of the Progress Career Planning Institute in Scarborough, professionals who move to Canada don't always prepare as well as they could.

“We researched to find out where these professionals got their information before coming to Canada ,” Singer says. “And we discovered that the number one source is friends and family.”

The problem with this, she adds, is “friends and family are not up-to-date on the Canadian labour market.”

Researching Canada from afar has never been easier, thanks to a vast reservoir of online information. Citizenship and Immigration Canada's website (cic.gc.ca), for example, includes a step-by-step Newcomer's Guide at cic.gc.ca/english/new comer/guide/index.html.

However, online research will only do so much. If possible, Singer says, professionals considering a move to Canada are wise to visit the city in which they hope to live. “Try to make some connections in your professional association,” she advises. “Gather as much information as you can and take it home with you to absorb later.”

Another reason to visit, according to Josh Frohwein, who says he interviewed hundreds of immigrants while working as a recruiter, is to “find out if you can handle our famous Canadian winters, especially if you come from a hot country where you have never seen snow,” he writes. “You may find that Canada is not for you, but it's better to learn it by way of a vacation.”

Community Resources : Literally hundreds of community service agencies specialize in helping new settlers. For a list of some of them, go to cic.gc.ca/ english/newcomer/welcome/ wel-20e.html.

Many who work in these agencies are immigrants themselves. They provide counselling, workshops and access to computers as well as referrals to language training, credential assessment, mentor programs and employment services.

They also offer moral support. “When I was at my lowest, feeling so dejected and rejected, they would call me or email me,” McPherson recalls. “It meant a lot, having people say, ‘You can do it'.”

Realistic Expectations : Despite published projections of skills shortages, Canada 's labour market is highly competitive and it takes time to find a good job.

“It can be hard for Canadians to find work,” Singer points out. “I know senior people, professionals, who take six months to a year, and they at least understand the system, know the associations and have some sort of framework.”

It's also true, Frohwein notes, that “no experience, no job” is a common refrain in the Canadian workplace.

Everyone starting out hears it, he says, even those born and raised here.

Patience : Prepare for a lengthy transition process, advises Daisy Wright, author of No Canadian Experience, eh? (WCS Publishers) nocanadianexperience- eh.com.

People like McPherson, “who take advantage of all available resources, who have goals and a sense of how to get there and who persevere, usually find their way in two years,” says Wright, a career specialist and an immigrant herself.

And it can take longer, she acknowledges, for immigrants who have to learn the language or who find themselves in a prolonged certification process.

Attitude : “At first, I was angry and disappointed,” says Mc- Pherson, of her early days in Canada when no one seemed willing to give her a chance. “But then I stepped back and realized that pushing back on the system would not get me anywhere, because the system was not going to yield to me. I realized that I had to get inside the circle and understand the system to move ahead. And that's exactly what I did.”

Survival Jobs : Getting inside the circle, as McPherson calls it, often means taking what's known as a “survival job.”

“Since I couldn't get in at my level, I took an entry level job in a retail telecom store,” she explains. “I walked in, asked if they were hiring, met the manager and in a week I had the job. I stayed there for nine months, because I realized that there was something I had to learn.”

Among the lessons learned, she says, was an understanding of the social niceties that dictate the success or failure of workplace relationships, a clear sense of Canadian consumers and how business is done in this country. “It's a whole different ball game than I was used to,” she admits.

The Experience Advantage : One problem with survival jobs, Singer says, is “that once you have positioned yourself at the low level, it's very hard to build your way back up.”

McPherson has seen this first hand. “I know people who've taken a survival job and become stuck,” she says.

“You're afraid to let go of what you have. You start to figure that this is all you can do. Your self esteem drops and drives out all the ambition you came here with.

“I didn't have any intention of doing that,” she adds, emphatically. “Once I learned what I needed to learn, I quit my job. I was unemployed for five months. But this time the responses were completely different. I got calls from employers because I had some experience with a reputable company. “I learned that once you add some Canadian experience to your resumé, doors will open.”

McPherson is now an immigrant success story. She works as a business development officer with “a fantastic organization,” she says. “I love it, although it's still not at the level I should be, given my background. But now I'm on the inside looking out.”

In my next column: Helping and welcoming internationally educated professionals.

Janis Foord Kirk is a public speaker and author of Survivability, Career Strategies for the New World of work. Write to her c/o Business, the Toronto Star, 1 Yonge Street, M5E 1E6 . E-mail: janis@survivability.net